Panama Corruption Probe Arrests Key Martinelli Ally

On Tuesday, May 12, police in Panama detained former Finance Minister Frank de Lima, who served under the Ricardo Martinelli administration (2009-2014), amid an ongoing investigation into the former president’s alleged corrupt activities.

Police arrested former Finance Minister Frank de Lima, an alleged member of the corruption scheme led by former President Martinelli. (La Patilla)

De Lima’s detention comes after Panama’s Electoral Court stripped Martinelli of his immunity from prosecution in late April. The former president is facing charges for allegedly inflating multimillion dollar contracts with food providers that supplied the National Help Program (PAN), a government-run welfare program.

Martinelli meanwhile hit out at the detention of one his former allies and said that “the terrible government we have is trying him due to political persecution.”

As Finance Minister, De Lima was responsible for drawing up the budget during Martinelli’s tenure, including the budget for PAN. His lawyers, however, state that he is neither responsible for the management of the program’s budget nor awarding contracts, two key aspects of the accusation against Martinelli.

De Lima joins Social Development Minister Guillermo Ferrufino, who has been held since early March at the Judicial Intelligence Directorate.

Meanwhile, in a last-ditch effort to avoid prosecution in absentia, Martinelli’s lawyers asked a judge to dismiss the case currently being led by the Supreme Court. Prosecutors suspect that a large part of the US$1.2 billion PAN spent in a little over four years may have gone missing.

Martinelli could become the first public official since Panama’s return to democracy in 1989 to face criminal proceedings for embezzlement.